The corona virus outbreak is first and foremost a humanitarian crisis, with adverse implications in the global economy.
Causing uncertainty and anxiety, the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting our daily lives, with sweeping effects on almost every business sector, from finance to tourism and hospitality.
Fashion and luxury are no exception. Due to their discretionary nature, fashion and luxury are among the industries to be most severely impacted by the crisis. Businesses are already under immense strain, struggling with labor costs, store closures, suspension of operations and a dramatic decrease in sales, together with the consumers’ reluctancy in spending and their (obvious) choice of necessary over luxury goods and services.
However, it has become evident that this pandemic has presented the fashion and luxury industry with a unique opportunity to reassess its values, strategy and business models and shift towards a more ethical and sustainable approach, to the benefit of not just the environment, but also society, consumers and the businesses themselves.
After the lockdown, we have witnessed businesses (in every sector – not just fashion and luxury) adapting to the digital environment at a remarkable speed, building websites and e-shops overnight, we noticed how companies succeeded in remaining fully operational by adopting remote working systems (a notion which, particularly in Greece, has been treated very skeptically – to say the least), and we were impressed by how swiftly the brands responded to the crisis, by shifting to more sustainable practices and implement social responsibility initiatives.
And, even more interestingly, all of the above are initiatives, practices and strategies which could (and in most cases should) have been adopted long before the Covid-19 global outbreak, which merely accelerated their implementation.
At Tailored, we are closely following the developments of the corona virus crisis and its implications both at a national and a global level. Greece is a country well-known for its creative industries (Food & Wine, Tourism, Design, Fashion & Luxury etc.), all of which have been adversely affected during these challenging times.
In the Covid-19 Special Report we discuss with Greek and foreign industry representatives and experts, who share their views and concerns about the pandemic’s effects, together with their proposals and ideas on how to mitigate the crisis.
